Secularism in Pakistan
overview of the prevalence and state of secularism in Pakistani society
Pakistan was founded on the concept of the two-nation theory, which was largely based on Muslim nationalism. The Zia-ul-Haq administration in the 1980s decade was anti-secular and Islamist. The supporters of Islamism assert that Pakistan was founded as a Muslim state and that in its status as an Islamic republic, it must thereby implement Islamic laws, known as Sharia. On the other hand, secularists describe that Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted a state where religious oligarchy will be absent and all Muslims will be liberal, he envisioned for a progressive and liberal Muslim state of Pakistan. The Constitution of Pakistan also prohibits non-muslims from becoming Prime Minister or President.
One of Pakistan's most popular media outlets, Dawn, was originally founded by Jinnah and still identifies as secular. Other popular media outlets like Express Tribune, Daily Times, and Pakistan Today also identify on a liberal and progressive platform.
History
The 1949 Objectives Resolution envisaged an official role for Islam as the state religion. The state retained most of the laws that were inherited from the secular British legal code that had been enforced by the British Raj since the 19th century.
After the creation of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, appointed Jogendra Nath Mandal, a Hindu as law minister and Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmadiyya as foreign minister in his first cabinet.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Secularism in Pakistan” as overview of the prevalence and state of secularism in Pakistani society. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as overview of the prevalence and state of secularism in Pakistani society. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20474460. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1949.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Secularism in Pakistan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.